Some 1,103 farmers applied for the Multi Species Sward Measure by the original application deadline of midnight on Monday 4 April.

According to the Department of Agriculture, the average size of the parcels of land farmers wished to sow with multispecies sward seed was 6.75ha or 17ac.The total quantity of seed sought from the farmers who applied was 268,029kg.

A 12kg bag will cover one acre of ground, so this means 22,341ac of multispecies sward will be sown by these farmers alone.

The deadline to apply to the scheme has been extended to 14 April.